Woli Arole Under Fire for Comments Amid Christianah Idowu Tragedy
Nigerian actor Woli Arole has faced significant backlash following a controversial post he made about women’s safety, which many found insensitive. The post gained attention amid the public outrage surrounding the abduction and murder of Christianah Idowu, a 300-level ABUAD student, by her friend Adeleye Ayomide, who had previously demanded ransom from her mother. On September 5, 2024, Arole took to Instagram, addressing women directly.
In his post, he wrote: “Message to the LADIES: The devil is on a rampage against young ladies’ destinies. Can we see the rate of RITUAL KILLINGS? Ladies don’t fornicate around, don’t carry SUGAR DADDY, don’t follow one boy friend away for a weekend, don’t date BOYS you know that are doing FRAUD!!!. Be careful. Beware. Study your Bible, PRAY. Give your life to Christ. Your destiny is more than SEX and MONEY.”
Arole’s remarks quickly sparked outrage, with many Nigerians criticizing his approach. One commenter expressed, “Women are being killed every day and this is all you could come up with, why not advise our fellow men to stop killing our women and protect them instead?”
Another user pointed out, “One girl was killed in church after Night Virgil.. she was a devoted Christian if I can remember… let’s hold the guys accountable as well .. this barbaric nature MUST stop!”
The frustration continued, with some accusing Arole of only addressing women, while failing to focus on the men responsible for such violence. “Always advice for the women, never one for the men! Mtscheeew,” read one of the comments.
One especially upset Instagram user wrote, “What worries me so much is how the message NEVER EVER says, ‘Young men, leave young girls to fulfill destinies,’ or ‘young men, STOP ritualism,’ or ‘young men, desist from being MURDERERS.’ Isn’t that what should be preached? Posts like this ache my heart so much. There’s never a message addressing the perpetrators and their actions. It will be well.”
Following the intense criticism, Arole deleted his post by the morning of September 6, 2024.